The Gates: Dog Eat Dog
"Dog Eat Dog" is the eighth episode of season one of the supernatural-themed television series The Gates. The episode first aired on ABC on Sunday, August 15th, 2010. It was directed by David Barrett and written by Gabrielle Stanton. In this episode, someone attacks Simon Ford, sparking off a tense rivalry between the vampires and the werewolves living at The Gates. Meanwhile, Andie Bates makes a final decision concerning her relationship with Charlie Monohan and Dylan finally learns the truth about Claire's relationship with Christian Harper. Synopsis Nick and Sarah Monohan attend a Homeowners Association meeting at The Gates. Both of them are uncomfortable and would rather be someplace else. While Frank scans the room, Sarah points out the various cliques. They take note of an argument brewing between residents Simon Ford and Ben McAllister. Ben wants Simon to change the timing on his sprinklers so that he doesn't get wet walking out for work in the morning. Simon makes a comment about the water washing away Ben's "special sunscreen". The argument grows heated and the two begin swapping punches with one another. Nick and Dylan Radcliff run over and break up the fight. Dylan informs Nick that while McAllister is part of his brood, Simon Ford is definitely not a vampire. Simon returns home with his wife, Joan. Joan wants him to capitulate, but he refuses to pander to any vampire, much less Ben McAllister. The following morning, Sarah is out jogging and finds Simon lying bleeding and unconscious in front of the sprinklers on his front lawn. He is taken to the hospital where Nick and Coach Ross come to see him. Joan tells them that Simon went out last evening after the Homeowners Association meeting, but when she woke up this morning, he hadn't come back yet. Over on Main Street, Peg Mueller pays a visit to the Devon Day Spa. She finds that she is growing Devil's Weed in her pots out front of her store. Recognizing the inherent danger in maintaining such a plant, she chastises Devon's use of it, citing that it is only used in the practice of the Dark Arts. Devon counters by saying that it has a lot of medicinal use as well. After Peg leaves, her daughter Mia comes out from behind an enclosure. Devon has taken Mia under her wing and is willing to teach her the rites and practices that her mother refuses to share with her. ]] Later, Mia goes to Gates Academy to talk to Andie. She notices Brett and Lexie walking by smiling and waving. She also realizes that Andie is in happier spirits now and even associating with the likes of Brett's friends. Andie however, determines that Brett must have told Lexie and the others about her secret. Charlie Monohan approaches them, but Andie quickly darts away. He asks Mia why she's been acting so strangely lately, but Mia is just as confused by her friend's behavior as Charlie is. The members of the Pack then meet up with Lukas. Lexie gives him her condolences for his father's injuries and tells him that he'll be out in no time. Lexie and two of the others walk away, leaving Lukas alone with Brett. He tells him that he knows Brett has been out "running", but Brett remarks that it has only been a few times. Lukas snarls, "You wanna lead the Pack? It's all yours." Meanwhile, Nick calls Ben McAllister into his office. He asks him about any unresolved issues that he might have with Simon Ford. Ben however, has an alibi for his whereabouts on the night of the attack. He tells him that if he is looking for suspects, then he should interview people that Simon has hurt over the years, like Coach Ross. After Ben leaves, Nick has Marcus do some research. They discover that Ross and Ford had an altercation with one another outside the country club when Ross first moved into The Gates. Simon beat Ross unconscious, but Coach never pressed charges. As such, no record exists of the arrest. Claire Radcliff returns home and is shocked to find Christian Harper in the living room playing with Emily. Nervous and outraged, she sends Emily upstairs then demands to know why Christian has come to her house. He admits to crossing a line, but he wanted to extend an invitation to Claire to meet him for dinner at his place at 8:00. His invitation turns sinister as he tells her that if she fails to show up, then he will have little choice but to tell Dylan the truth about the time they've been sharing together. Coach Ross is brought in for questioning. He tells Nick about the incident at the Country Club and says that the fight started when he accidentally parked in Simon's reserved parking spot. As far as the attack goes, Coach has an alibi. He was in Chester meeting with some college recruiters. He also warns Nick that Simon has a lot of friends who likely won't be very cooperative. This is the opposite of what Ben McAllister had told him when he said that nobody liked Simon. Meanwhile, Brett finds Andie on the steps of Gates Academy after school. He says that he told the Pack that she was special, but did not go into detail about her condition. He adds that they are more likely to embrace someone that they know is different; someone like them. Andie reveals how she almost hurt Charlie. Nick goes to the hospital and finds Lukas in the hallway. He asks him if he had heard anything on the night of the attack. Lukas tells him that he had his headphones on and didn't hear a thing. Joan Ford comes out of her husband's room and tells Lukas to get back to school. She then asks Nick why he has yet to arrest Ben McAllister for attacking her husband. Nick confesses that he doesn't believe Ben was responsible. They both walk into Simon's room, but as the enter, they see that he is gone. The window to his room is wide open. turns on Claire.]] That evening, Claire goes to Christian's house. She asks him if he is trying to mold her back into a "legitimate vampire". He wants to save what they once had and gives her a ring that had been in his family for generations. He expresses resentment at Dylan for being the one who turned Claire and regrets his hesitation. He professes his love for her and swears that he can make her happy, but Claire doesn't love him back. She tells him that no matter he does, nothing can break the bond shared between Dylan and herself. She turns to leave and Christian attacks her, biting her across the throat. At the Radcliff residence, Dylan snaps awake from his slumber, sensing what has happened. He bears his fangs in animalistic rage. Back at the hospital, Nick goes to talk to Simon's doctor. The doctor tells Nick that nobody entered or left Simon's room. Marcus shows him security camera footage of Simon running across the street, still dressed in his hospital gown. At school, Charlie catches Andie in the hallway. He demands to know what is going on between them. Ever since he fainted, she has been acting distant. She tells Charlie that she's been doing some thinking and she believes that it is not a good idea for them to continue seeing one another. She says that she never meant to hurt him. Claire returns home and finds Dylan sitting in the living room in the dark. He has been waiting all night for her to get back. When he sees the marks on her throat, he inquires about them and Claire breaks down and confesses that Christian and she have been hunting together outside The Gates. She tried to put a stop to it, but he wouldn't allow it. Dylan forces Claire to surrender her cell phone to him then storms off. The following day, Nick and Marcus canvas the outside of the hospital. Nick finds a cell phone on the ground. Marcus runs a trace on it and finds that one of the outbound calls is to Karen Crezski. At Gates Academy, Mia meets up with Andie in the bathroom. She lays into her for breaking up with Charlie and Andie apologizes for being a bad friend. Calling herself a "freak", she shows Mia the dark veins on her shoulder. Mia goes to her mother and asks her why she never told her about Andie's condition. Peg reminds her that as a physician, she is restricted by doctor/patient confidentiality. Mia asks if there is a permanent cure for Andie's symptoms and Peg tells her that without the synthetic compound found in her medication, her body will eventually turn on her and she will die. Elsewhere, Christian Harper is walking home when he receives a text message from Claire's cell phone that reads "Can we meet?" As he goes to meet her, Dylan leaps down from out of the shadows and attacks him. He captures Christian and takes him away. and Karen Crezski.]] Meanwhile, Nick Monohan goes to Karen Crezski's house. He skulks about outside and overhears Karen inside the house talking to Coach Ross. He learns that Karen helped to get Simon out of the hospital. Coach and Karen are alerted to Nick's presence and Coach reaches through the glass window, grabs Nick and pulls him inside. He immediately apologizes and says that he thought he was a vampire. Realizing that there is no way to keep their secret from him any longer, Coach and Karen tell Nick that they are werewolves. They further illustrate to him the politics between vampires and werewolves at The Gates and that Simon Ford is the Pack Alpha. Since there is no evidence of another werewolf challenging him for his position, they conclude that the attack against him must have been made by a vampire. If this is true, then the truce that has existed between vampires and werewolves for over a decade has now been broken. No one will be safe. Nick asks them how they were able to hear him from outside, and Coach tells him that werewolves have exceptionally acute hearing. He says that he can correctly identify the made and model of a car from over a mile away just by listening to how it sounds. Nick begins putting all the pieces together. He asks what their senses would be like if he were wearing headphones. Coach tells him that no werewolf wears headphones. Even at the lowest decibel, the sound would be deafening. Nick now knows who attacked Simon Ford. Nick goes to the Ford residence to speak with Joan and Lukas. He accuses Lukas of attacking his father. Lukas shows his guilt and says that he attacked him because he was hitting his mother. He says that he heard him coming down the street inebriated and knew that he was going to get violent. He went outside to confront him and Simon began calling him an idiot and an embarrassment. Lukas pounced on him and continued to beat him until he was bloodied and unconscious. Joan asks Nick what he intends to do now that he knows the truth. Nick tells her that he is going to do nothing. Later, Brett visits Andie's house. He wants them to be with one another, but Andie is scared that she might hurt him. Brett takes up a pair of scissors and cuts his arm open. The wound heals within seconds. Neither of them know whether they can be together, but they are both willing to try. Come the dawn, Dylan takes Christian out to the woods and ties him to a tree. He splashes water across his body to remove his protective sunscreen. Christian cannot believe that Dylan is actually attempting to kill him. He tells him to stop living a lie and punctuates it by saying, "You can act like a human, but you're not one!" Dylan tells Christian that he should have never come back into their lives. He splashes him one final time, gets into his car and drives off. As the sun comes up, Christian's face begins to blister and burn. Nick takes Lukas to see Coach Ross. By right of combat, Lukas is now Pack Alpha, but he doesn't want the pressure that comes with such a burden. Coach offers to lie and say that it was he who challenged Simon. As Pack Beta, it is his right to do so. By doing this, nobody will come out to challenge Lukas. Ross thanks Nick for the diplomacy he used to handle the situation. Dylan returns home and Claire is waiting for him on the staircase. She asks him what happened between Christian and he and he coldly responds "I fixed it". Simon visits Nick at his home. He tells him that he is leaving The Gates, but issues a warning. Vampires are not as trustworthy as he might like to believe. Vampires and Werewolves living side by side is against the natural order, and the day will soon come when things will come to a head. He further warns Nick that he will not want to be here when that day arrives. Cast Principal Cast Guest Stars Notes & Trivia * Production code number: 504410-108-S108 * Episode includes a recap of events from previous episodes. * Leigh Turner does not appear in this episode. * David Barrett also directed the second episode "What Lies Beneath". * Cheryl White, who plays Joan Ford, the mother of a werewolf in this episode, also played Mrs. Hamby, the mother of a vampire in the "Keep This Party Going" episode of HBO's True Blood. See also External Links * * "Dog Eat Dog" at TV.com Episode guide * "Dog Eat Dog" at ABC.com Episode guide * "Dog Eat Dog" at TV Rage.com Episode guide References ---- Category:2010 television episodes Category:Luke Mably